Eskom completes Majuba coal silo recovery

The collapsed Coal Silo 20 at Majuba power station in 2014 (Pic supplied: Eskom)

Johannesburg – Eskom announced on Monday that the construction of a permanent coal-handling solution for the Majuba power station in Mpumalanga had been completed following the collapse of a silo two years ago.

This includes the rebuilding of Silo 20, the reinforcement of Silos 10 and 30, a lift shaft, two piers and the coal conveyor system.

In November 2014, an incident occurred at Majuba where the wall of Coal Silo 20 collapsed.

Due to the structural failure of the coal silo and the associated conveying infrastructure, no coal supply to any of the station's three silos was possible. To enable coal supply to the station, an immediate solution was implemented within five days after the collapse of the silo.

This entailed the installation of mobile feeders on Silos 10 and 30 boiler incline to make it possible to supply coal to the units.

The solution ensured that at least four out of the six boiler incline conveyors could supply coal to the units.

Eskom's group executive for group capital, Abram Masango, commended the various teams for diligently working round the clock to ensure that repairs to the damaged silo were completed seamlessly and within set time-frames.

"It is no wonder that the project's interim solution won the Eskom Group Capital Best Project of the Year 2015 award. The completion of the project will go a long way in ensuring a reliable electricity supply to enable economic growth," Masango said.

To ensure coal supply to all six units at the power station, an interim solution was put in place from March 2015 that involved the construction of a conveyor system that bypassed the coal silos and provided a reliable coal supply to all six units.

The rebuilt Coal Silo 20 at Majuba power station in 2017 (Pic supplied: Eskom)

Construction work for the permanent coal-handling solution commenced at the beginning of February 2016 and was concluded by end-December 2016.

The scope for the permanent coal handling solution included the rebuilding of Silo 20, the reinforcement of Silos 10 and 30, lift shaft, two piers and the coal conveyor system.